Guidance on Documenting an Individual's Need for Assistance Animals in Housing
This section provides best practices for documenting an individual's need for assistance animals in housing. It offers a summary of information that a housing provider may need to know from a health care professional about an individual's need for an assistance animal in housing. It is intended to help individuals with disabilities explain to their health care professionals the type of information that housing providers may need to help them make sometimes difficult legal decisions under fair housing laws. It also will help an individual with a disability and their health care provider understand what information may be needed to support an accommodation request when the disability or disability-related need for an accommodation is not readily observable or known by the housing provider. Housing providers may not require a health care professional to use a specific form (including this document), to provide notarized statements, to make statements under penalty of perjury, or to provide an individual's diagnosis or other detailed information about a person's physical or mental impairments.49 Housing providers and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rely on professionals to provide accurate information to the best of their personal knowledge, consistent with their professional obligations. This document only provides assistance on the type of information that may be needed under the Fair Housing Act (FHA). The contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies. Further, this document does not create any obligation to provide health-care information and does not authorize or solicit the collection of any information not otherwise permitted by the FHA.50
When providing this information, health care professionals should use personal knowledge of their patient/client – i.e., the knowledge used to diagnose, advise, counsel, treat, or provide health care or other disability-related services to their patient/client.
Information relating to an individual's disability and health conditions must be kept confidential and cannot be shared with other
persons unless the information is needed for evaluating whether to grant or deny a reasonable accommodation request or unless disclosure is required by law.
As a best practice, documentation contemplated in certain circumstances by the Assistance Animals Guidance is recommended to include the following general information:
The type of animal(s) for which the reasonable accommodation is sought (i.e., dog, cat, bird, rabbit, hamster, gerbil, other rodent, fish, turtle, other specified type of domesticated animal, or other specified unique animal).52
Disability-related information. A disability for purposes of fair housing laws exists when a person has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. 53 Addiction caused by current, illegal use of a controlled substance does not qualify as a disability.54 As a best practice, it is recommended that individuals seeking reasonable accommodations for support animals ask health care professionals to provide information related to the following:
Whether the patient needs the animal(s) (because it does work, provides assistance, or performs at least one task that benefits the patient because of his or her disability, or because it provides therapeutic emotional support to alleviate a symptom or effect of the disability of the patient/client, and not merely as a pet).
Additionally, if the animal is not a dog, cat, small bird, rabbit, hamster, gerbil, other rodent, fish, turtle, or other small, domesticated animal that is traditionally kept in the home for pleasure rather than for commercial purposes, it may be helpful for patients to ask health care professionals to provide the following additional information:
It is also recommended that the health care professional sign and date any documentation provided and provide contact information and any professional licensing information.
What are assistance animals?
Assistance animals do work, perform tasks, provide assistance, or provide emotional support for a person with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits at least one major life activity or bodily function.55
What are physical or mental impairments?
Physical or mental impairments include: any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: Neurological; musculoskeletal; special sense organs; respiratory, including speech organs; cardiovascular; reproductive; digestive; genito-urinary; hemic and lymphatic; skin; and endocrine; or
Any mental or psychological disorder, such as intellectual disability, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disability; or
Diseases and conditions such as orthopedic, visual, speech and hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, autism, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection, mental retardation, emotional illness, drug addiction (other than addiction caused by current, illegal use of a controlled substance) and alcoholism.56
What are major life activities or major bodily functions?
They are: seeing, hearing, walking, breathing, performing manual tasks, caring for one's self, learning, speaking, and working.57
Other impairments – based on specific facts in individual cases -- may also substantially limit at least one major life activity or bodily function.58
What are Some Examples of Work, Tasks, Assistance, and Emotional Support?
Some examples of work and tasks that are commonly performed by service dogs include59:
The individual seeks a reasonable accommodation to a land use and zoning law, Homeowners Association (HOA) rule, or condominium or co-op rule.
59 See 28 C.F.R. §§ 35.136(f); 36.302(c)(6).
60 See, e.g., Majors v. Housing Authority of the County of DeKalb Georgia, 652 F.2d 454, 457 (5th Cir. 1981); Janush, 169 F.Supp.2d at 1136-37.
61 See, e.g., Anderson v. City of Blue Ash, 798 F.3d 338, 360-63 (6th Cir. 2015) (seeking a reasonable accommodation to keep a miniature horse as an assistance animal).
This section provides best practices for documenting an individual's need for assistance animals in housing. It offers a summary of information that a housing provider may need to know from a health care professional about an individual's need for an assistance animal in housing. It is intended to help individuals with disabilities explain to their health care professionals the type of information that housing providers may need to help them make sometimes difficult legal decisions under fair housing laws. It also will help an individual with a disability and their health care provider understand what information may be needed to support an accommodation request when the disability or disability-related need for an accommodation is not readily observable or known by the housing provider. Housing providers may not require a health care professional to use a specific form (including this document), to provide notarized statements, to make statements under penalty of perjury, or to provide an individual's diagnosis or other detailed information about a person's physical or mental impairments.49 Housing providers and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rely on professionals to provide accurate information to the best of their personal knowledge, consistent with their professional obligations. This document only provides assistance on the type of information that may be needed under the Fair Housing Act (FHA). The contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies. Further, this document does not create any obligation to provide health-care information and does not authorize or solicit the collection of any information not otherwise permitted by the FHA.50
When providing this information, health care professionals should use personal knowledge of their patient/client – i.e., the knowledge used to diagnose, advise, counsel, treat, or provide health care or other disability-related services to their patient/client.
Information relating to an individual's disability and health conditions must be kept confidential and cannot be shared with other
persons unless the information is needed for evaluating whether to grant or deny a reasonable accommodation request or unless disclosure is required by law.
As a best practice, documentation contemplated in certain circumstances by the Assistance Animals Guidance is recommended to include the following general information:
- The patient's name,
The type of animal(s) for which the reasonable accommodation is sought (i.e., dog, cat, bird, rabbit, hamster, gerbil, other rodent, fish, turtle, other specified type of domesticated animal, or other specified unique animal).52
Disability-related information. A disability for purposes of fair housing laws exists when a person has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. 53 Addiction caused by current, illegal use of a controlled substance does not qualify as a disability.54 As a best practice, it is recommended that individuals seeking reasonable accommodations for support animals ask health care professionals to provide information related to the following:
- Whether the patient has a physical or mental impairment,
Whether the patient needs the animal(s) (because it does work, provides assistance, or performs at least one task that benefits the patient because of his or her disability, or because it provides therapeutic emotional support to alleviate a symptom or effect of the disability of the patient/client, and not merely as a pet).
Additionally, if the animal is not a dog, cat, small bird, rabbit, hamster, gerbil, other rodent, fish, turtle, or other small, domesticated animal that is traditionally kept in the home for pleasure rather than for commercial purposes, it may be helpful for patients to ask health care professionals to provide the following additional information:
- The date of the last consultation with the patient,
- Whether the health care professional has reliable information about this specific animal or whether they specifically recommended this type of animal.
It is also recommended that the health care professional sign and date any documentation provided and provide contact information and any professional licensing information.
What are assistance animals?
Assistance animals do work, perform tasks, provide assistance, or provide emotional support for a person with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits at least one major life activity or bodily function.55
What are physical or mental impairments?
Physical or mental impairments include: any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: Neurological; musculoskeletal; special sense organs; respiratory, including speech organs; cardiovascular; reproductive; digestive; genito-urinary; hemic and lymphatic; skin; and endocrine; or
Any mental or psychological disorder, such as intellectual disability, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disability; or
Diseases and conditions such as orthopedic, visual, speech and hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, autism, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection, mental retardation, emotional illness, drug addiction (other than addiction caused by current, illegal use of a controlled substance) and alcoholism.56
What are major life activities or major bodily functions?
They are: seeing, hearing, walking, breathing, performing manual tasks, caring for one's self, learning, speaking, and working.57
Other impairments – based on specific facts in individual cases -- may also substantially limit at least one major life activity or bodily function.58
What are Some Examples of Work, Tasks, Assistance, and Emotional Support?
Some examples of work and tasks that are commonly performed by service dogs include59:
- Assisting individuals who are blind or have low vision with navigation and other tasks,
- Alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds,
- Providing non-violent protection or rescue work,
- Pulling a wheelchair,
- Alerting individuals to the presence of allergens,
- Retrieving the telephone or summoning emergency assistance, or
- Providing physical support and assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility disabilities.
- Helping persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors,
- Reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medication,
- Taking an action to calm a person with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack,
- Assisting the person in dealing with disability-related stress or pain,
- Enabling a person to deal with the symptoms or effects of major depression by providing a reason to live, or
- Providing emotional support that alleviates at least one identified symptom or effect of a physical or mental impairment.
- The animal is individually trained to do work or perform tasks that cannot be performed by a dog.
- Information from a health care professional confirms that:
- Allergies prevent the person from using a dog, or
The individual seeks a reasonable accommodation to a land use and zoning law, Homeowners Association (HOA) rule, or condominium or co-op rule.
- The individual seeks to keep the animal outdoors at a house with a fenced yard where the animal can be appropriately maintained.
59 See 28 C.F.R. §§ 35.136(f); 36.302(c)(6).
60 See, e.g., Majors v. Housing Authority of the County of DeKalb Georgia, 652 F.2d 454, 457 (5th Cir. 1981); Janush, 169 F.Supp.2d at 1136-37.
61 See, e.g., Anderson v. City of Blue Ash, 798 F.3d 338, 360-63 (6th Cir. 2015) (seeking a reasonable accommodation to keep a miniature horse as an assistance animal).
